Balloons
by Nightwingess
Summary: Dick and Barbara take a stroll through the park. -Birthday gift for Abbi :) -


The trees were bare, leaves resting in huddles of brown shades amidst the fresh fallen snow. All was quiet in Gotham's park, all but the steps of Barbara Gordon ad Richard Grayson trailing along the path to the swings.

"I'd much rather be at home with my mug and a good book Dick." She said, holding onto his arm as the chill in the air worked its way up her spine. Dick only smiled, gently rubbing her hands together to keep her warm.

"Yes, but then you'd miss out on all the fun of playing in the snow Babs." Barbara brushed her red hair away from the collar of her green sweater, as thick as it was she was still freezing. She was annoyed by the outside today, the few greens in the grass and trees, the gray skies and the cold temperature felt gloomy, lonely. Only the cackle of the boy near her filled in the missing colors of a world in winter.

"Are we almost there yet?" She asked, her voice soft, patient. He took her hand and shouted, "YES!" But rather than taking them to the swings, he stopped in mid sprint to jump into the air.

"Dick?" Barbara leaned back on her heels, confused by the spectacle that was Dick Grayson, a boy whose body was firm, strong like a man with years of experience and yet the curves of a child in his grin. With his arm stretched out, he reached for the sky, plucking a balloon from the air. She'd missed it entirely, and although she didn't want to admit it, her senses had been slightly impaired by his presence. She was too busy looking at his features, both the changes in him and the elements of his youth, to notice the balloon hovering above them. He stumbled backwards, hitting the wood of a park bench and little out a small yelp from the pain. Barbara shook her head, as he plopped down on the same bench to rest.

"I wonder who lost their balloon." Dick said. He turned the ribbon of the balloon around his fingers, tightening the string against his skin.

"You should have just let it fly away." Babs took the seat next to him, her eyes trained on the red balloon, shinny, simple and positively irritating to her.

Dick took notice to her expression and laughed, she looked as if she were interrogating it.

"Got something against balloons or do you suspect this one of robbing a bank?" She smirked, pushing his shoulder, a bit too rough as his body hit against the railing of the bench. She didn't apologize for it nor did he want her to, she knew he knew he could take it. There was a moment of silence, just the bouncing balloon between them and the hustle of branches in the air.

"When I was little, there was a boy…"

"Oh a love story." Dick fluttered his eyes ready for a tale of a little girl's romance, instead he got a classic Barbara glare telling him to stop the antics so she could continue, of course it was accompanied with a spark in her blue eyes that said she found him amusing.

"Go on ."

"There was a boy who loved to pop balloons in my ear and well it stuck with me, hate the damn things."

"You taught him a lesson though." She laughed, shaking her head, her fingers resting on the park bench, tapping to the sound of steps as children ran past them, giddy from the snow falling above.

"Do you want to know why I love balloons?" She sighed, preparing herself for some romantic notion as Dick was ever the dreamer. She liked that aspect of his personality, the way he always had a positive spin, a silver lining to everything while she took the good and the bad as two pieces of a whole. Dick Grayson just took the good, saw the half glass full and then overflowed it with water.

"I love them because they always go up." He pointed to the sky, the snow growing thicker, landing on his hair and eyelashes. He looked strangely beautiful with the white against his skin, like a statue of sorts. Her face flushed red.

"Up?" Normally she'd make a physics joke, something about gravity but for some reason the stillness of the moment made it hard to focus on science, or really anything related to logical reasoning.

"Yeah, up. Things in this world, they always bring you down but these balloons they only want to go up, higher and higher, they can't_ fall _down_."_ He coughed the last two words, afraid of what they implied, afraid of memories. She didn't comment on it. Had it not been for those last words she would have teased him about atmospheric pressure, how balloons pop when they reach the stratosphere, but not today, not now.

"I think I see your point." She patted his shoulder, slowly at first and then quicker, trying to bring his attention back from the dark past, from falling into the pain again. He smiled at her, a smile with broken melody playing on the ends of his lips.

"Dick, I honestly believe that's a beautiful way to think." She meant it too.

"You're too kind ." He winked at her, before she could respond a little boy was standing in front of them, his eyes on the red balloon. His hair was an ash blonde, his eyes a hallow green, with red veins lined across the white as if he'd been crying.

"Is this yours?" Dick asked, immediately, reaching forward to unwind the ribbon and place it in the boy's hand. The little boy nodded, rubbing the last of his tears from his eyes.

"Thank you." He said, taking the balloon, smiling and trotting off with a wave goodbye, magically happy again.

Barbara watched him go until he disappeared along the hills of snow, gone just as quick as he came.

"So, to the swings?" She smiled again, rising from the bench as he jumped from it, taking her hand, pulling her close to his body, his warmth and kissing her on the cheek as if to say "thank you for indulging me today." She nodded, touching the lines of his eyes, making sure they were clear of tears. Once she was sure he was all right, the two walked off to the swings, gently swaying as the snowflakes rested on their frame.


End file.
